Pedal Power! Smartphone APP Super-Charges National Bike Month

As the nice weather finally starts to take hold, our days warming up, and the glorious sun staying in the sky longer by a few minutes day by day, people everywhere are celebrating by ditching their winter coats and venturing outside to enjoy the nice weather. With April showers behind us and May flowers upon us, May also happens to be National Bike Month!

Sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists, National Bike Month is a great opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride. Whether you bike to work or school; to save money or time; to keep yourself in shape or as tribute to the environment; guess what? There’s an APP for that!

We’re shifting gears this week (see what I did there?) and thought it would be refreshing to bring you a blog post for the outdoor enthusiast by highlighting National Bike Month and telling you about an APP you should download to get the most out of your outdoor adventures.

I recently downloaded a new APP called MapMyRide for my iPhone and have since used it every time I’ve decided to go for a ride. MapMyRide is a fitness tracking application that uses the built-in GPS of your mobile device to track all of your fitness activities. All of have to do is open the APP, hit record before you start your route, and when you’re finished, stop recording. MapMyRide records your workout details including duration, distance, pace, speed, elevation, calories burned, and route traveled on an interactive map. You can even upload workout data to MapMyRide where you can view a comprehensive report detailing workout history where you can track your progress.

While MapMyRide has built-in preset settings for a multitude of activities outside of riding including; Running, Walking, Hiking, Lap Swimming, Trail Running, Power Walking, Stairs, Sprinting, and even Dog Walking, spin-offs of the APP such as MapMyRun and MapMyWalk are also available for download. There’s a free version of all the aforementioned APPs available or PLUS edition is available for $2.99 which turns your phone into your personal fitness coach granting you access to additional features such as coaching, where a virtual coach keeps you on track with the workout goals you set. Music, which allows you to control your playlist directly from the APP, and Live Tracking, which allows friends to track you on a map while you work out. MapMyRide, MapMyWalk, and MapMyRun are all available for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry